Contact allergy to Bronopol

A total of 8149 patients were patch tested with the preservative Bronopol in 7 European contact clinics. The majority of patients (6507) were investigated in London. Reactivity was low, with a total of 10 irritant (0.12%) and 38 allergic reactions (0.47%). In only 17 cases (0.21%) was the patch test reaction to Bronopol considered to be of current or past clinical relevance. Concomitant sensitization to formaldehyde was present in about 1/3 of patients. Based on these figures, the present sensitization rate to Bronopol in Europe seems to be quite low, which may be related to its less frequent use as a preservative in cosmetics and medicaments in comparison to parabens or isothiazolinones.